New Orleans Hornets, CP3 Must Push Envelope To Keep Spurs and Mavericks at Bay
It’s the beginning of December and the New Orleans Hornets are the owners of a very respectable 12-5 record, but their blazing start has slowed a bit as a result of two straight losses. But now that the "Hornets are a contender" surprise is over, it’s time for this club to realize their potential and start pushing the envelope.
Consider this: The race for supremacy in the NBA's Southwest division will be extremely difficult because it is the home to three of the top five teams in the league. These teams include the New Orleans Hornets, the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs.
To put things into perspective, a tremendous battle will ensue in the Southwest even before a possible meeting with the L.A. Lakers and a battle for Western Conference supremacy can occur.
An advantage must be found--some kind of conjunction function that will give New Orleans the upper-hand.
Indeed, the road to the finals from the Southwest is the most unenviable road in the NBA. The Southwest division does not suffer from the same perennial mediocrity syndrome as the Atlantic or Pacific divisions.
Big Easy fans are happier than the fans of most cities because their Hornets are buzzing and their Saints are marching, both title contenders in their respective sports.
GM Dell Demps and coach Monty Williams have done a fabulous job so far with the young Hornets—that much is obvious. The starters and the bench are displaying the type synergy that can only be attained by a club that has achieved a high level of chemistry—that much is also obvious.
What may not be so clear is that the Hornets are not the best that they can be and they must increase their offensive level of play if they want to realize their dreams. Sure, having an elite point guard and top five NBA superstar in Chris Paul helps make everyone play at a higher level, but not everyone is realizing their full potential yet.
In retrospect, the Hornets have already gone through the trepidation of an incredibly uncertain season...but that crisis has been solved and remains in the past--and now is the time for them to roll up their sleeves and do some even more serious work.
In order to become a more dangerous and feared team in the NBA, this club needs to step up the pace and score more, because they do not have a single body averaging at least 20 points per game.
Consequently, there is simply no choice for the Hornets. To ignore their obvious scoring weakness is to face the reprisal of both the Spurs and the Mavericks whose big guns are as big as cannons.
In theory at least, the Hornets could find an extra 20 PPG of total combined offense that could stem from Chris Paul increasing the pace by pushing up the ball more. Even if this concerted effort transcends into only 10 PPG of total combined offense, it will represent a vast improvement for this low scoring club.
Here are the key areas where the Hornets can push the envelope by opening up their scoring.
Marcus Thornton, Shooting Guard: Needs to Start
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Age: 23
Height: 6 ft. 4”
College: LSU
Draft Year/Pick: 2009, 43rd pick (2nd round) by the Hornets
NBA Achievements: NBA Rookie 2nd Team
Impact: Marcus Thornton was a pleasant surprise in his rookie year last season, especially for such a late draft pick. After last season’s All-Star game, this rookie averaged 20 points per game. This included scoring a franchise record high 23 points in one quarter, which led to a career high of 37 points in that game. He accomplished all this while CP3 was out half the season due to injury.
In fact, Dime magazine had said that Marcus is on the cusp of greatness.
Marcus is young, explosive and plays like a young Dwayne Wade. Unfortunately for Marcus, his poor preseason mixed with his inability to impress coach Williams on his defensive game has limited his contribution to a bench role.
Marcus’ game has again improved and the Hornets need his explosive scoring as a starter. Marcus will bring at least 20 PPG and his defense will improve with confidence.
He is the Hornets first 20 PPG player.
Player Stats |
| G | MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | |
| 2010-11 Season | 10 | 14.0 | .424 | .417 | .857 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 6.1 |
| Career | 83 | 24.2 | .449 | .375 | .815 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 13.5 |
Trevor Ariza, Small Forward: Needs to Increase His FG%
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Age: 25
Height: 6 ft. 8”
College: UCLA
Draft Year/Pick: 2004, 43rd pick (2nd round) by the Knicks
NBA Achievements: 2009 NBA Champion (Lakers)
Impact: Ariza is an all-around player whose presence is having an immediate impact in his first year with the Hornets. He can contribute across the board with points, rebounds, and assists. He is a workhorse that will play most games while averaging 30-plus minutes. Trevor is an excellent defender who contributed to the L.A. Lakers' 2009 championship.
But Ariza needs to improve his shooting percentage which has fallen from his career average of 44 percent to 39 percent per game. He also needs to increase his paltry three-point percentage, which stands at only 31 percent per game. Ariza is playing ten minutes more this year than he has averaged in the past and at 33 minutes per game is still scoring only 10.9 PPG.
Ariza needs to increase his shooting efficiency and raise his scoring game to at least 16 PPG.
Player Stats
| G | MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | |
| 2010-11 Season | 17 | 33.2 | .396 | .319 | .673 | 5.2 | 2.4 | 10.9 |
| Career | 400 | 23.5 | .440 | .321 | .659 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 8.5 |
Emeka Okafor, Center: Needs to Take More Shots
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Age: 28
Height: 6 ft. 10”
College: UConn
Draft Year/Pick: 2004, 2nd pick (1st round) by the Bobcats
NBA Achievements: 2005 NBA Rookie of the Year
Impact: Okafor is a career double-double guy who arrived in The Big Easy in 2009. He is an above average defender of the paint and provides close to 10 rebounds per game.
While not a big offensive threat, there is reason to believe that Okafor can still contribute more than the 11 PPG he is currently scoring. If you consider that his foul shooting is a very low 58 percent, an improvement in that area should garner at least an extra four points a game. Also, his field goal percentage is a fairly high 54 percent, so if Okafor were to take a few more shots per game his scoring should also improve.
Therefore, it is a safe bet that Okafor can help increase the Hornets overall scoring by contributing at least 16 PPG, which calls for five more points than he is already contributing.
| Player Stats | ||||||||
| G | MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | |
| 2010-11 Season | 17 | 30.8 | .540 | .000 | .585 | 9.5 | 0.4 | 10.1 |
| Career | 429 | 32.9 | .510 | .000 | .591 | 10.3 | 0.8 | 13.2 |
David West, Power Forward: Needs to Take More Shots
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Age: 30
Height: 6 ft. 9”
College: Xavier
Draft Year/Pick: 2003, 18th pick (1st round) by the Hornets
NBA Achievements: 2 x All-Star
Impact: David West is one of the most underrated players in the NBA. Do a Google search on “David West underrated” and see how many sports websites come up. He is unselfish, intelligent and completely underrated. West can score and rebound, and he’s done it for years, yet nobody notices.
West is currently scoring at an 18 PPG clip at a very decent 52 percent shooting percentage. Considering the fairly high field goal percentage, it is not inconceivable for West to increase his scoring by taking a few more shots per game.
Therefore it is a safe bet that West can help increase the Hornets overall scoring by contributing at least 20 PPG, which calls for less than two more points than he is already contributing.
| Player Stats | ||||||||
| G | MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | |
| 2010-11 Season | 17 | 32.7 | .522 | 1.000 | .710 | 6.6 | 1.9 | 18.6 |
| Career | 477 | 32.0 | .489 | .273 | .840 | 7.2 | 1.9 | 16.1 |
Chris Paul, Point Guard: Needs To Increase the Offensive Pace
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Age: 25
Height: 6 ft. 0”
College: Wake Forest
Draft Year/Pick: 2005, 4th pick (1st round) by the Hornets
NBA Achievements: NBA Rookie of the Year, 3 x All-Star
Impact: Chris Paul is a sensational point guard and is easily a top 5 NBA player. He posted amazing point guard numbers of at least 10 assists and at least 20 points per game in a single season twice. Steve Nash didn’t do it (but he came close), and look at the MVP hardware he has.
Only a select few NBA point guards in history have accomplished this remarkable feat. Tim Hardaway was the last to accomplish it during the 1991-92 season. To put this achievement into perspective, star point guards such as Jason Kidd have never even come close.
CP3 is the ultimate point guard, the tenacious quarterback of the New Orleans Hornets. He runs the offense and puts the plays in motion. Like Nash and Magic, Paul feeds his teammates and makes them better.
CP3 needs to increase the Hornets offensive pace by pushing up the ball more in a run-and-gun style of play. If Ariza, West, Okafor, and Thornton can increase their scoring production, it will mean more assists for Chris Paul.
This offensive momentum should allow Paul to also increase his scoring percentage and average at least 20 PPG as well--a statistic he is not unfamiliar with.
| Player Stats | ||||||||
| G | MPG | FG% | 3p% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | |
| 2010-11 Season | 17 | 34.4 | .490 | .474 | .901 | 4.7 | 10.3 | 16.5 |
| Career | 362 | 37.2 | .473 | .358 | .851 | 4.7 | 10.0 | 19.2 |
The New Orleans Hornets Bench: Need to Keep Up the Momentum
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Marco Belinelli - SG: 12.5 PPG on 44.5 percent shooting
Jason Smith - PF: 5.9 PPG on 43 percent shooting
Willie Green - SG: 8.9 PPG on 44 percent shooting
Jarrett Jack - PG: 4.6 PPG on 30 percent shooting
Impact: Marco Belinelli who has played OK so far, but he should be relegated to the bench in favor of a much more explosive Marcus Thornton.
Together with Smith, Green, and Jack, Marco can reinforce a fairly deep bench where the only glaring weakness can be found at the center position.
The bench has been effective thus far this season and should be able to continue playing well throughout the season.
The Hornets should try their best to get a real backup center.
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